Somewhere Over Which Rainbow?

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This is a view of the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls from the Canadian side of Niagara.

My husband and I are here for a weekend escape to celebrate our 19th anniversary. (Yes, I was a child bride ;)

I couldn’t help but think as I looked at this gorgeous rainbow that we are all searching…we have been programmed to seek the ‘gold at the end of the rainbow.’ Dorothy has sung to us since childhood that ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ is better than where we are now.

And now that I’m older (and hopefully wiser) — I’m going to respectfully disagree.

There is no ONE rainbow. There is no ONE ultimate. There is no ONE success or ONE finish line for your life or your business.

Instead, I believe we are gifted with multiple rainbows. Honestly, I was reminded of this by my 7 year old that said, “Mom, we need to go to Hawaii again. They have rainbows every single day.”

She’s right. We have daily rainbows. Daily successes. Daily achievements and gifts that we need to be celebrating right now.

Maybe this isn’t a brass tacks business post. Maybe you were hoping for 4 steps to getting to the end of the rainbow by next month. Sorry to disappoint you.

Or maybe…I can help after all…

If I had to construct 4 steps to getting to the end of your rainbow as quickly as possible, perhaps my advice would be this:

  1. Get clear on what goal or success or ‘rainbow’ you are working towards
  2. Be consistent with your daily effort & focus time (your coach or mentor can help you know where you should be channeling activities)
  3. Surround yourself with rainbow seekers and not rain coat sellers.
  4. Recognize the rainbows (even the little ones) when they appear & celebrate the beauty of it!

Don’t keep changing the rainbow. Don’t dismiss your successes when they happen. And most of all…recognize that while your rainbow might be different than mine…you CAN do this.

I believe in rainbows and I believe in YOU!

Please share with me below a success or goal or ‘rainbow’ you’d like to see in the next 30 days or so. I’d really love to know!

 

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Filed Under: Blog Posts, Goal Setting, Motivation & Persistence
About Carrie Wilkerson

Consultant & Strategist for self-employed professionals & small business owners. Wife, Mom, Author, Speaker & Joyful Human! Host of http://BarefootExecutive.TV and professional encourager...I believe in your dreams, in home-based business and the power of ruthless implementation!

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  • Anonymous

     Ali – thank you for being a great reminder and an inspiration!

  • http://twitter.com/Jo_Catalyst Joanne Ernst

    Thanks Carrie! As refreshing as an ice cold beer on a hot summer’s day :-)

    Wishing you and Mr Barefoot a wonderful anniversary, a fabulous holiday and many more rainbows together.

    My rainbow for the next 30 days (thank you for asking!) is to stick with my current rainbow and celebrate every little success along the way.

    Loving the new look blog by the way, nice job :-)

    love
    Jo

  • http://profiles.google.com/thorncoyle T Thorn Coyle

     You rock! Enjoy the rest of your time in beautiful places!

  • Carol O.

    Great post! And Happy Anniversary! I was a “child bride” as well and will be celebrating 31 years of blissful marriage in a couple of weeks.

    I believe there is always a rainbow to look forward to no matter what life throws at you. This has been a really tough year personally for our family–loss of baby girl grandchild, son hurt at his job, loss of our 13 yo dog–but things are looking better now.

    Professionally, my va business is taking off and  I have started a plr site. S0 my 30 day rainbow goal is to get more clients, sell more plr articles and begin creating ebooks to help others in their online adventures.

  • Carl Ann

    Sure! Oh absolutely. You have inspired me today. Thank you.

  • Joyce Moore

    I would like to develop 5 real relationships with business owners who’s services complement mine.

  • http://Busyness.com Dr. Brad Semp

    Happy Anniversary!!  Please send the same to Mr. B!  Hope to see both of you very soon!

    Unbusy Yourself,
    Dr. Brad

    P.S.  I also agree that “little rainbows” are all around us.  Unfortunately, most people are too busy to step back and acknowledge their existence.  I love to celebrate rainbows in accomplishing a single Action Unit (AU)….which is a 15 minute period of dedicated, focused and uninterrupted action.
     

  • Sarahjeanf

     Reminds me of our summer road trip in a rain downpour with the sun behind us. One beautiful rainbow after another. Trying to catch them all on my through the windshield of the car. So amazing people were pulling over to take it in. My directorship is the goal.i can see its magnificence each step of the way. Happy Anniversary!

  • http://twitter.com/shelleymolitor Shelley Molitor

    My 30 Day Rainbow – 3 busy moms ready for change and hungry for help!

  • http://twitter.com/ciaobella50 Bella

     Great read Carrie, inspired!

    Bella

  • http://twitter.com/ciaobella50 Bella

     Great read Carrie, inspired!

    Bella

  • Tanya Smith

    Happy Anniversary to you and Mr B :-) I went to Niagara falls with my Mum 18 years ago in January – it was spectacular, so powerful!!
    My 30 day rainbow is to get all my launch material written, recorded and going LIVE – come rain or shine!

    Enjoy your break

    cheers – Tanya

  • http://greenandprofitable.com Shel Horowitz-Green Marketer

     I’d love to see 10 or more additional paying markets for my new syndicated column, Green And Profitable. (And happy anniversary one day late).

  • Anonymous

    have you considered being an unpaid syndicated columnist primarily for
    saturation purposes? A client of mine is syndicated in 276 newspapers and
    does so for no payment strictly because of the exposure and lead gen. Might
    be worth a ‘consider’

  • Anonymous

    have you considered being an unpaid syndicated columnist primarily for
    saturation purposes? A client of mine is syndicated in 276 newspapers and
    does so for no payment strictly because of the exposure and lead gen. Might
    be worth a ‘consider’

  • Anonymous

     So proud of you Sarah! We KNEW this day was coming!

  • Anonymous

     let me know when you want to brainstorm some things Steve :) Proud of you!

  • Anonymous

     WOW Julie!!

  • Anonymous

     kiss the twins from Auntie Barefoot!! Ok – keep me posted on that 30 days! Proud of you!

  • Anonymous

     Shelley – frame that a bit differently – how about 3 busy moms ready for change and hungry for RESULTS ;)

  • Anonymous

     Joyce – blogs, facebook groups, linked in and twitter are excellent places to find those folks…great goal!

  • Anonymous

     you are an encouragement to us all Carol. way to grow…

  • Anonymous

     thank you ma’am :) and thanks for the magazine article you mailed me – filed in the idea box ; LOVE IT!

  • http://greenandprofitable.com Shel Horowitz-Green Marketer

    Yes, Carrie, I have considered it. I have over the years given out tons of free content and still do a monthly newsletter, a blog, lots of helpful posts on social networks, etc.

    However, I also believe that writers should get paid for our work, and I have set the price extremely low ($10 per column per issue, for media). I have three paying clients so far, and my goal is to have 1000 (or equivalent revenue from better-paying corporate clients) by the end of 2012.

    And this, in turn, I would expect to bring clients, speaking gigs, etc.

    However, the challenge is the wide availability of free content. Getting people to pay even a tiny bit is challenging.

  • Anonymous

    Gotcha! Thanks for clarification!

  • http://twitter.com/Jo_Catalyst Joanne Ernst

    As Ms Flintoft would say – ‘It’s a pleasure, treasure!’

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Janika-Skembo/1177116822 Janika Skembo

    I have a garden hose.  I can make a rainbow on any given sunny day.  I just have to get out while it is shining.

  • http://www.thelifestyleguy.co.uk/news Garth Delikan

    Hi Carrie, loving the “over the rainbow” analogy!

    I wrote something similar a while back along the lines of searching for “The Blue Bird of happiness” likening it to the fact we are always seeking things “outside of ourselves” yet everything we really need is “within us”.

    Great article! x

  • Anonymous

    I believe your 7 year old daughter has it all figured out.  We can and do have rainbows everyday.  Sometimes, they are right under our nose, and we just need to wake up from auto-pilot, get out of being reactionary,  live from possibilities and limitless opportunities, and magically the rainbows will appear everywhere.

  • Anonymous

    I agree Beverly!

  • Msilva

    Thanks, Carrie.  I enjoyed your post very much.   What a spectacular photo.
     I love a blog that requires me to take action!  In the next 30 days, I would like to start two more Mastermind groups… one on the book “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann,  and another on John Maxwell’s ”The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”.  
    With admiration and appreciation, Mary Silva

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    I might suggest just one at a time :)

    Congrats on taking action!!

  • http://www.kgvconsultants.com Kerry Garner Venter

    Firstly happy anniversary! Great post and I love this quote – “There is no ONE rainbow. There is no ONE ultimate. There is no ONE success or ONE finish line for your life or your business.” I agree 100% as we progress in this journey of life things change and we need to adapt accordingly thanks for sharing this…

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    thank you Kerry!! Glad to be of use ;)

  • Robert Forto

    Great post. Thank you! I once chased a rainbow for a hundred miles across the state of Utah. I was only 17 at the time. Now 41, I am chasing my dreams living in the wilds of Alaska and training to run the Iditarod. 

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